Friday, October 14, 2011

My husband has a serious love for steaks and for the most part I share this love (except for those years during law school when I was a vegetarian; this life change went over GREAT with my West Texas family whose life is based around farming, ranching, and eating meat). Any who, Dusty and I have seriously high standards in the meat department and it took quite a bit of work before we were able to find a place that could cook a steak. So to save my readers some trouble I have compiled a list of our favorite places to get a good steak in Shreveport/Bossier:

1. Village Grille

If money is no object then this is your place! The selection, service and quality are unparalleled. This restaurant competes with the best in any major city in the U.S. and is leaps and bounds above anything else in town. My words could never convey how amazing this place is. I feel comfortable saying that hands down this is the best restaurant in Shreveport/Bossier as well as the best place for an amazing steak. You will have to lay down a serious chunk of change but it will be worth every dime and I guarantee you will not leave disappointed. The menu changes nightly and is presented entirely from memory by your waiter. It is located on Louisiana Avenue and has a prohibition era charm to it. Its just so cozy and intimate I feel like I should smoke a cigar and watch Al Capone sip on a martini at the table next to us. Make sure to make a reservation as the tables are limited and fill up fast.

2. The Cub Restaurant
This is a hole in the wall if there ever was one. The Cub is actually a bar that has been around for decades and is extremely casual. It is located behind Broadmoor Garage near the intersection of Kings and Youree. The restaurant is inside the bar in a very small room. You are hereby warned that reservations are necessary, especially on the weekend because there are only about 8 tables. Although they serve some of the best steaks in town expect a very casual environment (although not casual dining prices). Think onion rings or fried mushrooms for an appetizer. The service is great and the atmosphere is cozy. The cub is our main choice for a great steak, service and atmosphere. And the potatoes au gratin will make you want to slap your husband. (At least they had that effect on me.)

3. Texas Street Steakhouse

This is a shout-out to Bossier City. TSS is located near the corner of Texas Street and Airline Hwy in a somewhat hidden building in the parking lot of Michaels. If this sounds like a weird location that's because it is. However, once you step inside all is right with the world. The service is excellent and the filet was possibly the best one Dusty or I had ever had; tender with amazing flavor. A source tells me you can ask for it with lump crab meat on top and lets face it....crab makes everything better. TSS is fairly priced for a steak house and well worth the trip to Bossier.

4. Superior Steakhouse

What can I say, this is what we locals simply refer to as "The Steakhouse". SS is the full service Steakhouse you would expect in a bigger city. They offer valet parking, a large bar and lounge area with couches and fireplace and all around upscale dining. It has a great bar which is our favorite thing about The Steakhouse. They usually have a piano player during happy hour and on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fridays they have happy hour 2 for 1 Mixed Drinks which is the way to go because SS will run you a pretty penny for a full meal and drinks. The food is consistently good and you really haven't lived until you have had their lobster bisque.

5. Wine Country

When all else fails, go to Wine Country. They brand themselves as a Wine Bistro and always have a great selection of food in case someone in your party wants something besides a steak. WC prides themselves on serving seasonal food so you can always guarantee that your meal will be fresh and unique. I recommend a cheese tray with pre-dinner cocktails as their cheeses are always interesting and fun to share. Their steaks are consistently satisfying and WC is a hands down favorite of mine.

Did I leave off your favorite steak joint? Let me know in the comments below!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I feel like I may have misled my readers when I first started this blog. I realize now that I should have posted a disclaimer to anyone willing to take my advice on good places to enjoy a drink in Shreveport. That disclaimer should read something like this:

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog hereby discloses that she has unintentionally found herself in a bar when a live sex act began on stage. Twice. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the appropriateness of any bar recommendations as she is clearly unable to make good decisions for herself, much less any of her readers. The owner will not be liable for any errors in judgment of the appropriateness of recommendations. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of these potentially inappropriate recommendations.

This policy is subject to change at anytime.

Now that we have the legal requirements taken care of (trust me, I'm a lawyer) we can move on to Shreveport Bites' recommendations for game watching spots in Shreveport. I love Football Season. Just the thought the fight song and cold weather is enough to get me so excited I go cross eyed. This week is a little tricky since the LSU game is only being shown on Tigervision. Not all bars are carrying the game so below is a list of Shreveport bars that have confirmed they will be showing the game. This list is obviously not all inclusive but it is a good start. For those Saints fans out there wanting a good place to watch the game on Thursday, all these places and many many more will be showing the game. Happy Football Season everyone!!!

Fat Cat's

The Cove on Cross Lake (This is a "private club" but all that is required to be a member is a valid ID that shows you are over 21 and you must fill out a membership card. There is no fee required to be in this "club".)

Buffalo Wild Wings

Time Out Sports Bar

I know my list isn't that impressive but so few places in town carry Tigervision that the options are limited. Do you know of somewhere that is carrying the game that I left off my list? If so, leave me a comment. I would also love to hear about your favorite place to watch the game on weekends it is a regularly televised game.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Dusty and I put our eating pants on today and tried out a new restaurant in Broadmoor called Marilynn's Place. Marilynn is a part owner of this restaurant and I do not know her personally but what I do know is......she is a bad ass. I am in love with this place.

Marilynn's is located in a refurbished gas station on Fern Avenue near El Chicos. If you don't know it is there you might miss it because they still don't have a sign up. Apparently the new trend in Shreveport is to renovate a gas station and put a restaurant in it as this is the second place to do just that in the past few months. (See my review of Fresco's here for the other local restaurant that used to be a gas station)

Marilynn's is very casual and has a great selection of New Orleans style cuisine: Shrimp Creole, Crawfish Etouffee, Red Beans and Rice, Gumbo, PoBoys, etc. They also offer "adult snow cones" which are regular snow cones with liquor in them. Yes please! And the good news for people watching what they eat is that they have some vegan and vegetarian options as well as some great looking salads.

Unfortunately, they were out of Shrimp Creole and Crawfish Etouffee today so I ordered the William Edward Joyce Curry Catfish PoBoy and Dusty ordered the Fried Shrimp PoBoy with a side of fries. The total for our meals and two drinks was $27 which is reasonable considering the large amount of food we got. The PoBoys come in two different sizes: 8 inches and 14 inches. We both got the 8 inch but really should have split one. They are HUGE and everything I hoped they would be. The catfish had an awesome flavor and was not over cooked and the shrimp were full of flavor as well. Our favorite part was the tartar sauce. I have never in my life had tartar sauce so good. We dipped everything in it. I think I could have eaten it with a spoon. I like tartar sauce.

This was a very fast lunch as we were in and out within 40 minutes. I am a new fan of Marilynn's and plan on making several trips back to try the etouffe, creole, shrimp remoulade and snow cones! But I should give you fair warning that the ventilation is bad so you will leave smelling like a big ball of grease. I look forward to being able to eat on their nice patio when the weather cools off.

Marilynn's also offers a Bloody Mary Brunch that sounds pretty amazing and when you like them on facebook you will get updated drink specials. They serve breakfast and are the place to go if you have a craving for beignets. If you haven't tried Marilynn's you are really missing out. I would go so far as to say it is a game changer for the Shreveport food scene. Welcome to town Marilynn's!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Before I get started I must issue an apology. Shreveport Bites went to Vegas two weeks ago and I have just now been able to get my schedule and liver back in proper functioning order. So I apologize for the delay in my new post. ﻿I also must apologize for getting a little off topic. We haven't been doing much eating out lately (re: went to Vegas, drank too much, lost all our money) so I don't have any a restaurant review for you today. But what I do have is a review of our trip out on the Red River. I feel like this falls into the category of "entertainment". Enjoy!

Dusty and I are lucky enough to have my family's boat in Shreveport this summer. We have enjoyed several trips to Cross Lake but a couple of weeks ago we decided to try out the Red River. We launched the boat at the Stoner Ave public launch and first headed north to cruise by all the Casinos. ﻿

View of the Red River Roses from the river

View of the rail road bridge and Horseshoe Casino from the River

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View of the Horseshoe from the River

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When we saw all we could see we headed south towards Natchitoches. I was really impressed about how smooth the river was. If you like to ski this is the place to do it. I decided not to today since it was our first time on the water and we weren't familiar with the navigation of the river yet. After about a 30 to 45 minute boat ride we arrived at one of the Lock and Dams. This was something new to me and a really cool experience.

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Entering the Lock

In order to continue south on the river you must bypass one of the dams. To do this by boat you pull on a rope at the very edge of the dam wall. This lets the dam attendant know you are there and he opens the gate for you. Once the giant cement gate is open you enter the lock and dam and wait for the gate to close. Once you are tied on to the side and the gate is closed the water level slowly begins to drop until you are at the level of the water at the bottom of the dam. (It was really hard for me not to pull an Eddie Griswald and ask the attendant where I could get some dam bait...) Once the water level is even with the lower part of the river, the gates at the other end of the lock and dam open and you continue on your way.

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Pulling the String!

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Photo op while waiting for the water to lower

It may be hard to see but if you look at the walls you can see how far down the water level went. The light part of the wall was where we started and the dark part of the wall was how far down the water level went.

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Leaving the Lock

We traveled another five minutes and found a nice beach to stop on which we enjoyed for a while. We finally decided it was time to make the 45 minute trek back to the launch site and go home for the day. My pititful pictures do not do the Red River justice. It is such a beautiful boat ride and I seriously encourage anyone who has the opportunity to boat down the red to take it.

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Our Own Private Beach

﻿﻿﻿ We have plans to boat all the way to Natchitoches when the weather cools off and I really hope we can find a mild day in December to go down for the Christmas festival. How cool would it be to roll up into Natchitoches and just hop off the boat and enjoy the festival? Sounds like a perfect day to me! Stay tuned

Monday, August 1, 2011

No...this post is not really on topic but it is my blog and I can do what I want! I was recently sent a pic from my coworker with the title "Aren't we cute" and it included a picture of her and her new boyfriend.
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Aren't they just so cute?

Well my response was that it is all fun and games now. But wait until you get married. One minute you are all in love and head over heels and the next you find a drunk pirate sitting in a lawn chair in your living room.
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Drunk Pirate

Hahaha you know I love you Dusty! You keep things interesting!

And yes, I can tie this post into something Shreveport and food related. See that lime in my pirate's drink? Well we have a new crop of limes just beginning to take shape on the lime tree in our back yard which I have named Julio.
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I spent a full week debating on whether or not I would post this review. I had multiple people tell me I just HAD to try Columbia Cafe and that it was their favorite place in town. In short, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Before I begin I will add a disclaimer that we were still recovering from the Pub Crawl the night before so we had a serious appetite worked up and this could explain why I was extra critical of the food.

Dusty and I visited Columbia Cafe last Friday for lunch. Columbia is located on the corner of Kings Highway and Creswell Avenue in a renovated home that gives the restaurant a fabulous atmosphere. It is cozy and every table is different which really gives the place a lot of personality.

We were warned when we first walked in that they were short staffed but were assured we would be served shortly. And sure enough we were. The chef herself came out to take our order and describe the specials. I ordered a Kobe burger but was informed they were all out of burgers (Imagine my poor hungover self's disappointment!) so I went with a second choice of the shrimp entree with an Asian sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, and fried polenta.

Unfortunately, when we began to eat we quickly realized this food was all beauty and no flavor. The best way to describe this meal is that it just wasn't good. I can't in good faith say it was bad; because it wasn't bad. It just wasn't good. Dusty's chicken was the only thing that we both agreed had flavor. It was covered in tomatoes and herbs and smothered in cheese but the chicken itself was dry. At the end of our meal we found ourselves wanting something more. In fact we both agreed we could have eaten another entree each.

We were soon ready for our check but unfortunately we waited another 15 minutes for our waiter to come back around. I tried to keep in mind that they warned us they were under staffed when we arrive but there were only 3 full tables in the entire restaurant (including us) so I couldn't figure out what was going on. When we finally did get the check we were shocked to see that it was over $40. I don't mean to sound like a tight wad but I think $40 is a bit outrageous for two small, bland lunch entrees, two waters, and bad service. Dusty ended up having to take the check up to the bar himself to pay so we could leave in time to get him back to class.

I know that others in town have had much better experiences than we did and if you disagree with my review please please leave me a comment. Did we go at the wrong time of day? Did we order the wrong things? Let me know what you think. Considering all my criticisms of the food I still love the atmosphere of Columbia Cafe and would love to go have a glass of wine there after work one day.